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Minimum wage still to be reviewed --- McLeod News --- Page A6
news
Friday, August 28, 2015 www.guardian.co.tt Guardian
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0.0520
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3.2832
for 27TH AUGUST, 2015
YVONNE WEBB
As he mounted a Peo-
ple s National Move-
ment (PNM) platform in
Point Fortin, which he
dubbed "football coun-
try", on Wednesday
night, Rowley chal-
lenged Sport Minister
Brent Sancho to say if
he has an account at
Wells Fargo Bank in the
United States, in which
monies from Concacaf
were deposited for the
local team to participate
in a Club Championship
match.
Rowley said if the
answer was yes, Sancho
must clarify how the
money got there or else
he should be disquali-
fied. In his discourse,
Rowley raised the issue
of trust and said people
must have trust in their
elected members.
"They pick candidates
and you are still seeing
this absence of trust.
Their lack of trustwor-
thiness being a qualifi-
cation," he said.
He reminded his audi-
ence that out of the blue
one day, Prime Minister
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
informed the public she
was using taxpayers
money to settle a private
lawsuit, which was still
continuing, between the
former Soca Warriors and
former Fifa vice president
Jack Warner
Rowley said at that
time they were partial to
the footballers receiving
some $15 million to settle
the private matter but it
dawned on them some
time, "after a leading
light in that lawsuit, a
certain Brent Sancho,
who was working for the
PM s favourite contractor,
suddenly end up in the
Government as a Minis-
ter of Government."
He said that was when
he started thinking
"could it be that this was
an arrangement made
then, to buy Brent San-
cho, using taxpayers
money for a UNC can-
didate to run in
Toco/Sangre Grande.
"Because you see,
Brent Sancho now
appearing with a number
of other footballers who
were beneficiaries of that
football money and all of
them suddenly up and
up under the PM," Row-
ley said.
Rowley revealed that
Sancho s Central FC got
through to play in the
Concacaf Champions
League and as such
would have received
money from Concacaf to
take part in the tourna-
ment.
"In the meantime, he
is a minister in the Gov-
ernment of Trinidad and
Tobago," he reminded the
audience.
"I want to ask Brent
Sancho in football coun-
try Point Fortin tonight
(Wednesday), if he has
an account in Wells Fargo
Bank in Pennsylvania?
"I want to ask him if
the account start with
the number 224 and
some other numbers? I
want to ask him if while
he was a minister of
Government, if the
monies meant for that
team to go to a football
tournament end up in a
bank account where he
is listed as the ultimate
beneficiary while being
a minister of Govern-
ment?"
Rowley said he was
posing these questions
because the country
lacked trust in current
government officials.
He called for a detailed
account about how the
transaction occurred and
who advised Concacaf to
route that money into the
account of a Government
minister.
"You think he will
answer? Do you trust
him, does he qualify to
be a UNC candidate?
Does he qualify to be a
MP elected by the peo-
ple?" Rowley toyed with
the audience, receiving a
resounding no for every
question asked.
"Now you see how
they does start. You know
where he is going... on
the way to the treasury."
RHONDOR DOWLAT
An apparent mix-up and/or mis-
understanding between Concacaf
and the Central Football Club (CFC)
caused the regional governing body
for football to deposit some
US$39,000 into the personal US
account of Sport Minister Brent
Sancho.
Contacted on the issue yesterday,
after it was raised by People s
National Movement (PNM) leader
Dr Keith Rowley during a meeting
in Point Fortin on Wednesday, San-
cho, not wanting to comment much
but leaving it up to his former club
to clear the air, told the T&T
Guardian the funds went into his
account by error.
Sancho s special adviser in the
Ministry of Sport, Kevin Harrison,
who also worked with him while the
two were at Central FC, described
it as "a storm in a teacup." He said
when Sancho realised the funds were
transferred to his account, he (San-
cho) immediately went to the bank
and had a cheque made out for
US$39,000 to be paid to CFC.
"Mr Sancho did nothing wrong.
There was an error and he imme-
diately rectified it," Harrison said.
In a release late yesterday, CFC
said due to changes in management
and administration staff at the end
of last season, club staff were under
pressure to meet various Concacaf
Champions League deadlines, one
of which was to submit the club s
bank details to receive Concacaf
funds.
"As the funds to be received from
Concacaf were to be despatched as
US dollars and CFC would be trav-
elling to Los Angeles and Guatemala,
it was decided that a US dollar
account would be financially ben-
eficial.
"However, CFC had not opened
the required US dollar account in
time to adhere to the required Con-
cacaf deadline," the release said.
Harrison explained that the club
decided that info of Sancho s account
provided in December to the
Caribbean Football Union (CFU)
would be submitted to Concacaf and
the CFC s own bank account details
would be submitted later.
In an email on July 27, 2015, which
was obtained by the T&T Guardian,
CFC notified Concacaf that they
would be submitting new bank
details the next day (July 28, 2015).
The club s new US dollar bank
account details were sent via email
on July 28 to Concacaf. This email
was prepared by club manager
(administration) Jamie Aleong-
Charles. Confirmation was made by
Gino Rullo, Concacaf s manager of
club competitions.
"During this busy period for Con-
cacaf, the payment instructions were
not altered and Concacaf despatched
the funds to Sancho s account in
error. CFC were expecting to receive
funds into their account and it was
several days before they realised that
the funds were deposited into San-
cho s account.
"Sancho immediately arranged to
withdraw these funds and
US$39,000 was paid by cheque to
CFC," the CFC release said.
"Because this transaction would
need to be declared, Sancho had to
determine the exact charges to be
deducted before returning any bal-
ance to the club. Contrary to what
was being reported, this transfer of
funds did not hamper CFC s prepa-
rations in any way. Further, there
was an ongoing dialogue throughout
this period so that all parties were
aware of the situation."
CFC said it also believed high-
lighting the issue was nothing less
than "malicious gossip designed to
tarnish the reputation of CFC and
Minister of Sport Brent Sancho."
'Storm in a tea cup'
Mix-up caused funds to go to Sancho...
Rowley also raised
questions about the UNC
Point Fortin candidate
Ravi Ratiram, saying
there were accusations
raised against him while
he was on the University
of the West Indies Guild
of Students.
Outgoing Point Fortin
MP Paula Gopee-Scoon,
speaking on the platform,
also expressed concerns
about Ratiram.
Noting that there
were currently questions
being raised about the
dealings of the PTSC
board, of which Ratiram
is a member, she said:
"The people need to be
assured that you are not
a part of that. Say is not
you nah boy. I want to
give you the benefit of
the doubt."
Sports Minister Brent Sancho.
PHOTO: TONY HOWELL
...as Rowley questions Minister's integrity
A3